SharpCap Forums

Hi Robin,

I am trying again to convince you of the need to make file naming consistent between DSO Live Stacking and Planetary Live Stacking.

For DSO Live Stacking file names and paths can be specified using templates. For live stacks I have set the following template:
Live Stack (Processed):
{TargetName}\{TargetName} {Filter} {SubExposure} x{Gain} {StackedFrames}frames D{Date} T{Time}
so that when I save a stack, say of M42, I get a filename and path like this:
..\M42\M42 Visible 8.0s x400 65frames D24_02_2026 T19_59_15
giving me useful information about the image, embedded in the filename, that I use for assessing and sorting the images.

For Planetary Live Stacking the templates are ignored meaning I have no control over the file names and paths produced and I get a completely different filename and path like this:
..\Stack of Jupiter\Snapshots\Snapshot at 17_38_59 of Jupiter_00001_Visible

Ignoring the templates already in place is inconsistent and means I need to rename and re-path every file I save from SharpCap Planetary Live Stacking. So I would need to rename the example above to:
..\Jupiter\Jupiter Visible 50ms x100 1000frames D06_03_26 T17_38_59
which requires me to open the camera settings file to obtain the exposure, gain, and frame count, as well as creating a new path, moving the file to this folder, and almost completely renaming the file.

This would all be unnecessary if Planetary Live Stacking followed the same template rules as does DSO Live Stacking. The code is already in place to support templating but currently it is not used by Planetary Live Stacking. Can you please change this?

Peter

Hi Peter,

nice to talk to you yesterday at the PAS show about this. You'll be pleased to hear that I had similar feedback later in the day about the need for an ability to customize this. I'm inclined to add this as a new feature in the next major version of SharpCap (4.2, which I have started doing some work on). I am inclined to add a new set of template options to customize the file naming for the planetary live stacking, as I don't feel that the raw/processed/normal options used in deep sky are really a good fit for the snapshot/timelapse/autocapture requirements of planetary, but the flexibility to customize will be there.

cheers,

Robin

Thanks Robin, that would be much appreciated. Nice to talk to your too yesterday.

Peter